mangrumsNet

Back in January, I posted about a proposed Foreign Trade Zone being lobbied for in Boise. That concept is not turning out well for Greece.

China has capitalized on the financial crisis to expand its influence in Europe, promising to buy Greek, Spanish and Portuguese bonds. But its most important infrastructure deal in Europe has been its investment in the Greek port of Piraeus.

Through such deals, Chinese influence is changing more than just the financial landscape in Greece — with ramifications for the rest of Europe.

Standing at the container terminal of the port of Piraeus, John Makrydimitris points toward his feet. "There is Greece," he says. Then he gestures toward a metal fence just yards away. "And there is China," he says with a laugh.

The idea is these zones would more or less be foreign territory, and workers would be imported from outside of the U.S. to work. Local companies could take advantage of the lower cost of production as the zones would not be governed by all of the same laws.

For these workers, labor conditions on the Chinese side of the line are very different from those on the Greek side.

Cosco doesn't allow unions or collective bargaining among its 500-plus Greek workers. The unions report that Cosco workers are largely unskilled and working on a temporary basis, with no benefits. Despite persistent rumors about their labor conditions, until now no Cosco workers have spoken out to the media.

But a former Cosco worker, who had just been sacked, spoke to NPR about work conditions on the Chinese-run pier, on the condition that his name not be used. The worker says he regularly worked eight hours a day with no meal breaks and no toilet breaks.

If you don't eat, obviously you wouldn't have to use the bathroom so why bother giving them breaks? Besides, if they really have to go, there's a really big toilet right next to the docks.

He says workers were told by supervisors to urinate into the sea, rather than taking toilet breaks. Those operating straddle carriers had to take cups up into their cabins to urinate into, and he says they were not given breaks, either, despite the clear dangers of operating at such a height for so long.

...

The worker says he was paid 600 euros a month — about 50 euros each shift — around half the salary at the neighboring Greek-operated pier, with no extra money for working night shifts or weekends. There was no set schedule; he was kept on 24-hour call for nine months.

...

But speaking to a public forum, Cosco's flamboyant chairman, Wei Jiafu, has insisted that delivering benefits to his workers and easing unemployment are his top priorities in Greece. He also boasted about the fact that none of his Greek workers had ever been on strike.

That's because they'd be fired for even thinking about picketing. Countering the statement by Greek officials that the money has been worth it:

But Cosco's critics see things very differently.

"We spoke in Parliament about our fears that labor rights would worsen," says Piraeus representative Theodore Dritsas of the left-wing Syriza party. "But what has happened is beyond our imagination." He's been following the labor issues closely after complaints from within his constituency.

"The main problem is that Greece is no longer a sovereign state in economic terms," he says.

Awesome. Giving up national sovereignty for some short-term financial gain sounds like a fair trade. Not.